N.J. couple tried to do a good thing and almost got shut down. 3,000 people are glad they made it.

Updated Dec 10, 2018; Posted Dec 09, 2018

Mark and Joi Smith started a faith based non profit organization out of their second home in East Orange, which houses 16 homeless men with mental disabilities and a host of emergency services that have helped the community with food, clothing, furniture and whatever is needed.

Mark and Joi Smith had no idea what they were doing 15 years ago. The married couple figured their second home -- four bedrooms and four bathrooms on South Arlington Avenue in East Orange -- was big enough to help the homeless get back on their feet.

Their hearts were, one might say, too big when they started Joi’s Angels, a faith based non-profit organization that stumbled out of the gate providing shelter, food and emergency services. The first generous mistake of kindness was to let several people – men, women and children - stay for free. Some of them took advantage by not letting the couple know they were on assistance from other social agencies, they said.

“We opened this up with absolutely no idea of what homelessness meant at all," Joi said. “We had no concept. We just had faith and a vision."

They needed more than that. Joi’s Angels, out of naivete, didn’t know it was supposed to have a license to operate a homeless shelter. They were almost shut down, but East Orange granted them a variance.

Lloyd Abdul-Raheem, a former East Orange construction official, remembers the position they were in at the time.

Volunteers for Joi's Angels, a non profit organization, wrap gift baskets for its annual Christmas party to help families in need.

“They were thinking they were helping people and they didn’t know how to navigate the approvals," Abdul-Raheem said.

As they sought compliance, senior citizens spoke up on their behalf during a zoning board meeting. In addition to helping the homeless, the Smiths had also started their own food pantry that was popular among the city’s seniors.

“I told them (city officials) that if I were homeless I would be glad to live there," said Lena Slaughter, 89. “They don’t treat people like they are clients. They treat people like they’re family."

This is what drives Mark. He’s knows what it’s like to be homeless -- a predicament caused by the 10-year drug addiction he once had.

“I felt like when I was out there, people weren’t too concerned about you when you were down."

Once he got himself together, Mark said he wanted to give back to others. With 27 years of clean living under his belt, Mark has taken that feeling of rejection from the streets to house the homeless and serve families with basic needs when funds are low.

“They thought he was nuts," Joi said of her family’s reaction to Mark’s idea. “They thought I was crazy for following. him."

She saw his purpose, and together, Mark and Joi, who reside in Union, made it happen the right way.

Students from East Orange Campus High School volunteer to help the Joi's Angels organization prepare for its annual Christmas party give away at Essex County College

Joi’s Angels has a pantry for blind veterans at the VA New Jersey Health Care System in East Orange and at Essex County College in Newark for students. The food pantry that started out just for seniors, now serves 2,000 people twice a month.

There’s a thrift store with clothes and furniture for families. Mothers receive diapers and baby food. If they’re expecting, there’s a community baby shower that Lorraine Ebron, an administrative assistant, can’t stop talking about. The women, she said, received so many gifts that Mark and Joi ordered Uber cars for some of the mothers to get their items home.

“These people are phenomenal," she said

Joi’s Angels distributes toiletries to whoever needs them. Each month, adolescent boys and girls receive hygiene products and they talk about social issues that affect them.

Much of what the organization receives is from donations, some grant money, with the rest from Mark’s income as a contractor.

None of the altruism, though, happens without volunteers. Joi’s Angels has a dedicated core of 50 people, who get on board once they see Mark and Joi’s commitment.

Lewis Fishburne, who was once homeless, has pitched in for the last 13 years after they helped him get settled in Elizabeth.

He said he’s been around a lot of organizations, but many of them are not serious about the homeless.

“A lot of those people are about a paycheck," Fisburne said. “It’s not about a job with Mark and Joi. You can feel that from them."

Tondra Taylor said she had to be an Angel volunteer once she saw the impact the organization had on people during a Newark event last June to help people struggling to get their lives on track.

“They forgot about homelessness for a minute," said Taylor, speaking about the people. “They had joy in their hearts."

Last weekend, East Orange students from Stem Academy High School and Campus High School got a chance to be part of Joi’s Angels' dedication. They wrapped gift baskets for an annual Christmas party that 3,000 people are expected to attend Dec. 15 at Essex County College. There will be games and prizes for kids, a luncheon and bingo for seniors. Several stations with supplies will be set up to help families.

The house where it all began, however, is not a shelter for everyone like it started out. It provides long and short-term housing to 16 men with mental disabilities, along with many programs that benefit the community.

“They care," said Mark Scheider, who moved in a month ago. “They’re incredible."

The home, he says, stays busy with people stopping by to volunteer or to receive emergency bags of food. It was the second time last week for Hadiyah Douz, 32, who said being at Joi’s Angels is like going to a relative’s home for food when you’re in need.

“They make you feel welcome," she said.

Mark and Joi said they never thought about quitting when some of the people were less than honest or when the organization was almost closed for not having a license.

He and his wife don’t look for attention. They don’t want anything, except to be a guiding hand leading folks to better days.